


Deperate Times call for Desperate Abuse of Status Ailments

by BooksAndDragons



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Akira Kurusu is a cuddly sleeper pass it on, Caring team, Gen, Sleep Deprivation, Status Ailments are useful for more than just fighting opponents, honestly couldn't help myself, kinda Akeshu if you squint, kinda Fluff with a light dusting of Angst in there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:26:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24062077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooksAndDragons/pseuds/BooksAndDragons
Summary: Sure, the sleeping ailment may have been annoying, but if it meant that Joker finally got some rest now and then, then it was worth it- even if it requires going behind his back a little.For months now, Joker believes that the shadows of Mementos keep knocking him out, but it's actually his teammates.What? He's too stubborn to listen to anything else, this was their last resort- they swear.(It has absolutely nothing to do with how adorable and cuddly he gets in his sleep, Crow stop looking at us like that- you'll see what I mean.)
Relationships: Kurusu Akira & Phantom Thieves of Hearts
Comments: 14
Kudos: 453
Collections: Quality Persona Fics





	Deperate Times call for Desperate Abuse of Status Ailments

**Author's Note:**

> another fic that i had intended for a themed week! This time for 'Hard Work/Slacking Off', because let's all be real here- the scales are definitely somewhat unbalanced when it comes to Akira.
> 
> also, i honestly just love thinking about the implications of various status ailments

Joker was lucky that the domino mask covered half his face, covered the heavy, dark circles hanging under his eyes- but the Phantom Thieves weren’t so blind.

While a domino mask was the perfect shape to cover those dark circles, a simple pair of framed glasses wasn’t so effective.

Everyday, Akira would slink into school with small smiles and honed focus in class, but Ann caught him dozing between lessons. They all noticed the way Akira’s attention span had shortened in recent months, that he was drinking more coffee than anyone should in a single day, his latent reaction times in the Metaverse- he was overworked. And they couldn’t do anything to help him.

It didn’t mean they hadn’t  _ tried _ . From swapping his coffee for decaf (he’d noticed right away) to trying to have sleepovers together (Akira always had some sort of work on that night)- they’d reached a dead end of desperation. Ready to call it quits, maybe stage a protest and refuse to do any more Phantom Thief work until he got some damn  _ rest _ , their next trip to the Metaverse was a pure strike of inspiration.

Sandman wasn’t a difficult opponent, but even so, Joker wasn’t on his a-game. Taking more damage than usual, dodging much slower than he used to- it was almost a relief when Joker fell to the sleep ailment. Resting blissfully, recovering from damage with every passing minute- Haru couldn’t bring herself to wake him, instead aiming a perfect ark of her axe directly in the Shadow’s direction.

Even when the Sandman disappeared, flakes of dust in his wake, Akira remained asleep, curled into himself on the floor of Mementos.

Not only was it an adorable and relieving sight, but an  _ inspiring _ one.

Carrying the sleeping Joker onto the Mona Bus, Makoto drove in silence to the rest stop, an odd sense of victory about them.

When they arrived, setting Joker down across a few on the seats, it was Skull that spoke first, his voice carefully hushed, a wide grin on his face.

“You all thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”

And thus began, a tradition.

* * *

“You all  _ what _ ?”

“Shh, Akechi, could you keep it down? Akira’s just downstairs, he could hear you!”

The young detective stared around at the unabashed Phantom Thieves, a look of incredulousness clear in his gaze.

“Are you aware of how dangerous that is? Of how easily you could compromise your position- not to mention that you’re essentially _ drugging him _ .” 

Yes, Akechi had undoubtedly done some….questionable things during his time in the Metaverse, but magically drugging someone? Let alone the leader?

The Phantom Thieves were complete  _ idiots _ .

“When you put it like that, it sounds like we’re doing a bad thing.” Ann frowned.

Before Akechi could argue that it’s exactly what it sounds like, (like  _ he  _ was the one to call moral high ground), Makoto intervened. “We know the implications of our actions, Akechi-kun, but the outcome outweighs the risks. We only ever do it once we’ve cleared the floor of shadows, and we’re near a rest-stop.” Again, Akechi opened his mouth to argue, but Makoto wasn’t having it, “You’ve seen Akira for yourself,  _ Detective _ , this is a necessary precaution. Akira’s a risk to himself and won’t listen to reason- you may not approve, but you don’t have to be a part of it. All we ask is you don’t tell Akira.”

It was a tall ask but he had to admit... a reasonable one. It was true that Akira had often seemed sleep deprived in recent months, and by all means Akechi could understand, but to consider how Akira had once nearly fallen asleep standing up in Leblanc...perhaps it wasn’t such a poor idea.

“Plus, he’s  _ crazy _ cuddly when he’s asleep.” Ann caught Akechi’s gaze, eyebrows raised, and quickly backtracked, “That’s not why we do it! It’s just...a bonus.”

“You said you wanted to join the Phantom Thieves, right?” The cat interrupted, bright blue eyes piercing into Akechi’s own, “Well this is a part of it, so get over it and accept it- Akira’s on his way back up now.”

When Akira arrived in the attic, wide-smiled and dark circles hanging under his eyes, Akechi said nothing- even as Akira passed him his own coffee, before taking a seat next to him.

He ignored the yawn that was muffled behind a cup of coffee.

* * *

As their mission through Mementos continued, Akechi almost forgot about the Phantom Thieves’ plan entirely- too caught up in the adrenaline of battle after battle, the rush to heal each other as they drove through Mementos- it made a refreshing change to his own missions in the collective cognition landscape.

It wasn’t until they had reached one of the lowest levels of Mementos, that Akechi remembered the other members’ ulterior motives- it was hard to miss the way Panther’s gaze flickered to Joker more often during the battle, as if waiting for an opening. 

He paid it little mind, focusing on the shadow before them- he and Joker in perfect unison with their attacks- a battle pattern that was growing increasingly common since Akechi had joined the team. He caught himself catching Joker’s eye, mirroring the same excited grin on his face as they striked, blades falling down heavy on their opponent.

In the haze of battle, the matching sound of weaponry bearing down on their foe, Panther’s cry for ‘Dormina’ got lost in the shadow’s cries of pain, ignorant of Joker and Crow, despite the spell chasing their figures.

Crow had little time to relish in their victory, the specks of black dust fading away, as a figure fell in the corner of his eye, black coat billowing behind him.

In an instant, Skull was there, Joker fast asleep in his arms. A toothy grin beamed up at him.

“Good job, Crow.” Praised Queen, walking up from where the backup team had been waiting, “I’d say this was a good day’s work.”

“Yeah! We cleared more levels than usual.” Panther cheered, her persona fading into flames behind her, “We should probably get to a safe zone soon though…”

Bewildered by their nonchalance, Akechi could only watch the undoubtedly ritualistic routine as Joker was lifted into Skull’s arms (which looked almost concerningly easy) and the Monabus apparently behind them, doors open and waiting- a distinctive purr to the engine.

“He’s gettin’ lighter.” Skull frowned, narrowing his gaze at Joker’s features- as if able to see the reason for the weight loss at mere glance. 

Oracle sighed, slinking down from Necronomicon, “He’s been missing dinner recently for work, Sojiro tried to talk some sense into him but….”

“He didn’t listen.” Queen’s voice was flat, utterly unsurprised. 

Nobody replied, instead turning to crowd back into the Monabus, Joker ending up balanced between Skull and Crow, the rumbling of the engine broke only by Joker’s deep breaths in his sleep. The air was fragile, as if everyone was frightened that the slightest disturbance would wake Joker- perhaps it would, Crow could imagine Joker being a light sleeper- but he was surprised to find himself equally wary of his own breathing, the sound of it.

“Down this level, the rest stop should be there.” Oracle’s voice was barely audible, even from the second row, but Queen had clearly heard her, if the murmured response was anything to go by.

With no shadows in their way, and a sleeping Joker between them, the drive was quick and uneventful- even passing a treasure chest as they left. Not even Skull muttered a word, too fixated on keeping a hold on the sleeping body next to him, a tight grip on his side- pulling him away from Crow. 

Akechi couldn’t help but feel slightly hurt by the evident protectiveness. It was no secret that Sakamoto was the most hesitant around him, perhaps even distrustful, but it made the tight grip on Akira’s side hurt no less.

Finally, the Monabus came to a smooth stop, everyone shifting out and holding out the door for Skull, stepping out with Joker in his arms again.

It was a wonder that, despite all the carrying and small jostles, Joker hadn’t so much as stirred.

As if able to read his mind, Noir fell into step beside him, following the group as they made for the descending escalators.

“He’s exhausted,” Her voice was almost sorrowful, guilty, “It’s why the status ailment works so well, he’s not even inflicted anymore- he just needs the rest.”

Ahead of them, the rest of the thieves made towards the seating, Skull gently placing Joker down across several of the seats- Crow almost winced, that couldn’t be comfortable, but he supposed it was better than the floor.

While everyone searched their supplies for bandages and snacks, Akechi drifted to the seats, sitting down next to the sleeping Akira.

His mask had been taken off, assumingly for comfort now that they were in a rest stop, which only made his sleeping features appear all the more delicate.

The contrast between his wakeful self and when in sleep was striking, startlingly so. In sleep, soft features were no longer strung with stress and tension, the witty and wareful persona Akira Kurusu carried in life was abandoned in the throes of sleep. Were it not for the heavy bags of unrest under his eyes, his slimming frame, it would be easy to forget that this was the invincible leader of the Phantom Thieves, that this was a character who was so overworked and stressed in his daily life.

In sleep, Akira Kurusu was free of that. He looked innocently vulnerable.

Uncaring of the hushed delegation of supplies, Akechi couldn’t help but reach out, running one gloved hand through tousled black hair as he did so- it was just as fluffy as it looked, Akechi was almost jealous, he spent so much time and products on the maintenance of his own hair, and here was Akira- effortless in achieving soft (if unkept and messy) hair.

His lips twitched as Akira shuffled in his sleep, leaning closer to his touch as he began to withdraw.

If he listened carefully, he could swear there was a slight muffled whine of complaint at the loss of contact.

“We told you, clingy.”

His hand whipped away from Akira, clutched tightly against his chest as he looked over at Takamaki, offering him a faintly smug smile. He felt like a child caught doing something they shouldn’t- he hoped his mask was enough to hide the pink blossoming on his face.

“It’s kinda nice, he’s not really that touchy-feely when he’s awake, so when he gets all cuddly and clingy it’s comforting to see. Think it puts him at ease too.”

If you asked Akechi, that was more sad than it was nice- he knew all too well the emptiness of feeling deprived of affection. Perhaps that was why he reached out again, under the encouraging gaze of Takamaki, and let his hand run through Akira’s hair.

He tried to ignore the rush of warmth pooling in his stomach as Akira responded to his touch, even in sleep. Akira’s open acceptance of Akechi even in such a vulnerable state felt...nice. Accepting.

He tried to ignore it.

“Crow’s the chosen one, huh?”

Sakura’s amused tones felt almost teasing, taking her perch beside Ann, “Careful, he’s clingy.”

Oddly enough, that seemed to only endear Akechi to the situation more, rather than deter him- maybe the open affection was getting to his head.

“I kinda wish he was more like this in real life, you know? He always seems so….closed off.”

“That’s probably not his fault though,” Sakamoto took the seat on Akira’s other side, sighing heavily as he opened a box of bandages, “You know how he is, Panther. That’s not gonna go away overnight.”

“I know! I was just saying…”

“...I know you were.” His tone was heavy, much more serious than Akechi was used to hearing from the annoying, exuberant blond.

The silence carried on, broken by the sound of bandages being wrapped around various injuries, soft instructions hushed between them.

Akechi almost jumped at a sudden weight on his thigh, hand jerking away as his gaze snapped away from the fussing thieves, down to the mess of hair that had seemingly migrated to rest on his leg. 

For a moment, Akechi said nothing, content to only stare in shock as Akira slept on, completely comfortable and unperturbed, breaths deep and regular- finding complete comfort in  _ him _ . Him, of all people.

Biting down at the smile teasing at the corners of his mouth, Akechi resumed running his fingers through Akira’s hair, amused as Akira continued to chase the affection.

Akechi was strongly reminded of a cat.

He didn’t even need to look up to see the knowing smirk on Takamaki’s face, and quite frankly he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Not right now, too preoccupied with the rush of shock and odd contentment in his chest at the close contact. The utter  _ trust _ he felt in that moment.

Some traitorous voice in his head hissed that Akira wasn’t in control of his own actions, that he’d do this with whoever was closest. Akira was exhausted and needed the reassuring touch of contact- Akechi was being selfish.

Although, for once, why couldn’t he be utterly selfish? For just a moment….

Even the Phantom Thieves were suddenly in brighter spirits around him than they had been since he joined, and it was all because of the sleeping leader now resting on his lap.

And he had to admit, watching Akira Kurusu finally  _ rest _ , unaware of anything else, momentarily unburdened by his day-to-day life...was the least he deserved.

Maybe the Phantom Thieves had it right, just this time.


End file.
